The Great Comet of 2013 - Comet ISON (C/2012 S1)

Comet ISON

Attention all stargazers! Make sure you mark your calenders for late 2013. This is when you should have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the brightest comet to visit our area since 1680. Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) will not be a threat to impact the Earth or the Moon, but certainly will pass close enough to our planet to provide quite an awesome cosmic display.

Comet ISON - What to Expect

Comet ISON (technically known as C/2012 S1) was discovered by a pair of Russian astronomers in late September 2012. The discovery was made using a telescope at the International Scientific Optical Network (or ISON) located in southern Russia. Its orbit suggests that it has originated from the Oort Cloud, a group of comets that orbit the Sun from a vast distance.

So why is the comet causing all this excitement? Firstly, ISON will pass relatively close to the Sun (just under one million miles at its closest point) this close approach will cause much of the comet's ice to melt, releasing gas and dust and producing what could be a tail of enormous length, perhaps long enough to stretch half-way across the night sky.

Secondly, the comet's projected path will put it close enough to the Earth (Don't worry-no impact danger here folks) that we will get a magnificent display. Those in the Northern Hemisphere will get the prime seats to witness the show in the weeks before Christmas 2013, as the comet could glow many times brighter than a full Moon (although not nearly as large).

Another reason for the heightened enthusiasm surrounding ISON is its close resemblance to the Great Comet of 1680. That comet was visible during the day and had a stunningly long tail. These two comets have a very similar orbital path, and researchers speculate that the two comets could be "related' because they may have fragmented from the same body. If this is indeed the case, astronomers hope that the ISON show here on Earth could rival that of the 1680 spectacle.

Not to be a wet blanket here, but it should be noted that comets have a history of not living up to their lofty expectations. For example, 2011's Comet Elinin was a much anticipated comet that disintegrated completely before reaching us, therefore nothing is guaranteed here. One can only hope that ISON will be a spectacular celestial event that we can all remember for years and decades to come.

Books on Comets

Although ISON is expected to be naked-eye viewable for about ten weeks, the peak time to witness the comet should be in the middle of December where ISON will be shining bright in the nighttime Northern sky.

Thoughts on ISON or This Lens? - Feel free to leave a comment. Thanks for visiting!

No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.

sending

Hitman_4761

5 years ago

This is my second comet

Birthday Wishes

5 years agofrom Here

Nice lens! I hope that I can see the comet... Thanks for sharing!!!

TanoCalvenoa

5 years ago

Cool, I've seen two comets in the past and would love to see another.

ConvenientCalendar

5 years ago

Very interesting! Enjoyed it!

Steve Dizmon

5 years agofrom Nashville, TN

I am really looking forward to this Celestial Event. By the time the Comet does return I will probably be too old to enjoy it.

Loretta Livingstone

6 years agofrom Chilterns, UK.

I've never seen a comet or meteors or a shooting star, because every time there are any due it seems to be overcast. I hope I'll be able to see this one. Thank you so much for visiting my lenses.

Vikki

6 years agofrom US

Exciting! I hope I remember this ;) *Blessed*

anonymous

6 years ago

Looking forward to seeing that. Just hope she holds together long enough for a good show in the night sky.

anonymous

6 years ago

You certainly are stirring up the excitement for ISON for those of us in the northern hemisphere here. It is so interesting that ISON could be related to the Great Comet of 1680...I guess out in space relationships last a long time. I sure hope ISON lives up to expectation, what a spectacle to look forward to for a year! Beautifully presented!

unnamedharald

6 years ago

Very interesting. I remember the comet Kahoutec (in the seventies?) and what a big deal they made out of it, but it was a big fizzle. Hopefully this time the comet comes close to the hype!

getmoreinfo

6 years ago

amazing

BorisStewart

6 years ago

Wow! I LOVE Comets!

Linda Jo Martin

6 years agofrom Post Falls, Idaho, USA

I look forward to seeing the comet. Fortunately I live in a place where there's no city lighting to obscure the stars.

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)